continuously questioned our own ethical assumptions and foundations. The FASPE Fellows had a high degree of professional influence and autonomy compared to most individuals, and almost all of us could draw
a direct line from our career to one that existed in Nazi Germany. After all, bankers, lawyers, engineers, consultants, managers, and executives were notable and influential then as well. We examined the period from this perspective.
FASPE emphasized a powerful feeling: “that could have been me,” which not only applies to those who suffered but also to those who caused the suffering. It’s easy for one to believe “I would have refused to work with the Nazis” or “I wouldn’t have taken part in designing the gas chambers.”
These views, however, are naive and unverifiable. We learned that often it wasn’t the case that anyone was even “forced” to do these things. Instead, people would win the honor and privilege of a prestigious government partnership or opportunity. While some chose not to work
on these projects, the majority did.
These people weren’t directly running the concentration camps, rounding up prisoners or ultimately murdering millions of people. However, they did design, finance, insure, and consult on these Nazi endeavors. Additionally, they were well compensated for their services both monetarily and socially. The natural conclusion, then, is that these people were
greedy opportunists profiting off the suffering of others, right? Well, not necessarily. Many individuals were not rabid
advocates of what was happening politically.
For people, however, who took pride in their careers, working on these projects was the
avenue to continue practicing their craft, feeling professional satisfaction, or advancing on the corporate ladder.
We, as future business leaders, must be mindful of the ramifications of our decisions. Even if not on the scale of the Holocaust, ethical quandaries will always exist. What is morally right or wrong? Or more realistically, what ethical tradeoffs do I face? Or even more realistically, how do I balance my own personal incentives and security with the drive to do what’s morally “better” or “best”? Which battles should I fight? What are the second- or third-order effects of my decisions that are not immediately obvious?
These are all tough questions, and I am thankful for the superb community of individuals I was able to ponder them with. Undoubtedly, the greatest part of this experience was meeting the faculty and Fellows who arrived with varied backgrounds to evaluate and tackle these challenges together. Listening to others from across disciplines discuss their own experiences, ethical dilemmas, and decision-making processes demonstrated the difficulty and necessity of making tough moral choices and allowed me to adopt a more capacious, rigorous perspective.
It was liberating to realize there is rarely a clear, right answer. The only wrong path is to stick your head in the sand and not reflect on the process at all. Taking some time, even briefly, to evaluate potential ethical consequences—a step too often skipped—will drastically improve the quality of your moral decision-making. And, if you have the support and insights of others who share similar values, well— that’s even more powerful.
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Adam Shen was a 2025 FASPE Business Fellow. He holds an M.S. in financial economics from Columbia Business School.
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